5 Expert Grilling Tips for Better Holiday Cookouts: DIY Guy

There are few subjects that can incite an argument as quickly as how best to grill food. It seems that everyone has a preferred, surefire method for grilling the perfect meal. And that's especially true of guys.

There are few subjects that can incite an argument as quickly as how best to grill food. It seems that everyone has a preferred, surefire method for grilling the perfect meal. And that's especially true of guys.

There's just something about cooking outdoors over an open flame that fires up our machismo and stirs our competitive caveman spirit, even while wearing a bib apron and saying less-than-manly things such as "Honey, I can't find my tongs!"

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Despite all of the strong feelings you might have on the subject, there are some tips that every backyard chef should put into practice--and plenty of experts to help along the way. Note that these methods can be used regardless of whether you grill with gas or charcoal. Happy cookin'!

1. Let It Be

Patience may be a virtue, but it's not practiced all that often at the altar of the Church of Weber. And it's impatience that causes the No. 1 grilling mistake: Messing with the food before it has had a chance to cook.

According to celebrity chef, best-selling author and restaurateur extraordinaire Bobby Flay, you should avoid testing the food the minute you put it on the heat, which includes picking it up to see if it's done on the bottom, moving it around and turning it over every 10 seconds.

Flay suggests putting the food down and giving it time to cook. This gives the food a chance to sear on the bottom so that it naturally pulls away from the grates. If you try moving food before it's seared on the bottom, it'll definitely stick.

2. Preheat Poultry

When grilling chicken, you can save a considerable amount of time and fuel (gas or charcoal) by first partially cooking the chicken in a microwave oven. I admit this is controversial among grilling purists, but it's also a good way to avoid the old charred-on-the-outside, raw-on-the-inside problem common to chicken. The point here isn't to cook the meat completely in the microwave, just to heat it up enough so that it cooks more quickly and evenly on the grill.

Figuring out he amount of time you need to nuke the bird will take a little experimentation. For example, I've found that in my 900-watt oven, I must microwave cut-up chicken parts on high for about 3 minutes per pound. (Note that they must be arranged in a single layer.)

For a whole or half bird, I usually microwave on high for about 4 minutes per pound. (And be sure to leave the skin on during microwaving and grilling to keep the meat from drying out.)

And how do you know when poultry is grilled to the proper doneness? Well, you could take its internal temperature with a food thermometer (it should reach 180 degrees), or try this tip recommended by those lab-coated experts at the Good Housekeeping Research Institute: Place the grilled chicken on a white plate and pierce it with a fork. Any juice that comes out should be clear. If it's pink or red, put the chicken back on the grill for a couple of minutes, then check again.

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3. Go to the Basket

Delicate foods, such as sliced vegetables and fish fillets, are difficult to grill because they tend to fall through the cooking grates. However, you can easily solve this problem by using a grilling basket or grid, which you place directly on the grill.

Grilling baskets are sort of wok-shaped and have flat, square bottoms and slanted sides. Grilling grids are flat, rectangular pans that resemble cookie sheets. The surfaces of both baskets and grids are perforated with dozens of holes or slots, which allow the flames to grill the food.

I always spray or wipe down my grilling basket with vegetable oil prior to use. That way, food doesn't stick and clean up is a breeze.

4. Forego the Fork

Every set of barbecue tools comes with an extra-long two-prong fork, which, I admit, is fun to wield; there's no better way to punctuate a heated conversation than by pointing a 14-in.-long fork at someone. However, a fork should never be used to turn over meat.

Every time you pierce meat with a fork, moist juices flow out, and you run the risk of ending up with a steak as succulent as an old catcher's mitt. So, forget the fork and pick up a pair of tongs to lift and turn meat. By using tongs you'll not only get juicier steaks, chops and chicken, you'll also gain much more control when moving meat.

It's interesting to note that grilling guru Bobby Flay finds those extra-long barbecue tongs hard to use, and feels that they keep hold food too far away from him. He prefers using regular kitchen tongs for picking up, turning and moving just about everything on the grill, except fish, which he turns with a wide spatula. (Some guys wear a pair of clean work gloves when they use this method, to avoid searing their hands along with the meat.)

5. Wait Before Slicing

There's nothing quite as enticing or tasty as a big slab of grilled beef. However, most backyard cooks are an impatient lot--me included--and they start slicing into the meat the instant it comes off the grill. Big mistake, according to Steven Raichlen, award-winning chef, TV host and cookbook author. He recommends that you let grilled meat rest for 3 or 4 minutes to allow the juices redistribute and thicken. If you slice into grilled meat too soon, all those moist, tasty juices will flow out, leaving the meat dry and chewy.

By the way, this wait-to-slice rule should be observed for pork, lamb, chicken and other meats, too. (And if you slicing into your meat before it comes off the grill to check for doneness, that's even worse. Use an instant-read thermometer instead.)

Here's another Raichlen steak-grilling tip: Before bringing the steak to the table for slicing, drizzle a little olive oil or smear a pat of butter over the steak to give it a handsome sheen and spectacular flavor and finish.